Apple's delayed wireless AirPods will finally ship 'over the next few weeks'

Those of you eagerly waiting for Apple's wireless AirPods to launch will be happy to hear they're weeks away from launching.

According to MacRumors, which received a forwarded email written by Tim Cook, who was responding to a customer's complaint, Apple expects to begin shipping AirPods "over the next few weeks". The customer had emailed Apple's CEO asking for a release date. The customer also warned that he would buy some other wireless headphones if forced.

Cook apologized for the delay and said Apple is finalising them: "I anticipate we will begin to ship over the next few weeks," he added. That means they should finally arrive sometime in December, just in time for Christmas. MacRumors said it verified the email came from Apple's corporate servers, though it warned the email could've also been faked.

When Apple unveiled its wireless AirPods in September, it said they would be available in late October. The world therefore expected Apple to announce during its 27 October event an actual release date for the earbuds - maybe the company would even launch them after the event. But then, at the end of October, Apple confirmed to various media outlets that it was delaying the launch of its first pair of wireless headphones.

In a statement, Apple said it needed "a little more time before AirPods are ready" for customers. Although it didn't provide a new release date for the £159 headphones, Apple explained it doesn't "believe in shipping a product before it’s ready". That's such an Apple thing to say.

We contacted Apple for a confirmation and will update when we know more.